Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: WSU on January 31, 2019, 10:22:28 AM

Title: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: WSU on January 31, 2019, 10:22:28 AM: The discussion about lifting fish out of the water made me reflect on how I've evolved as a fisherman. I used to want to kill everything. I still like to harvest fish but have found I can fairly easily catch more fish than I eat in a timely fashion.

I find that a halibut or two, a half dozen kings, and some tuna is typically more than my family will eat in, say, six or eight months. I don't like to keep fish any longer than that, as I feel the quality goes down. I can a lot of the tuna, so they last years with no ill-effect. I find myself becoming a "fish snob" and only keep a few of the best eating fish. Most fall chinook go home with friends. URBs, Youngs bay brights at B10 and ocean fish (not 90% of the puget sound kings I catch but I'm in deep south sound) are the exceptions. I only keep chrome coho, don't eat winter steelhead, etc. I won't smoke fish that I wouldn't want to eat fresh (prime fish). As a result, I release a lot of fish and give away/share a lot of fish.

So, how many fish do others keep and eat? Some folks keep and eat dozens of salmon a year. I have no beef with whatever your approach is a long as it is eaten and enjoyed. For hatchery fish, I don't care if you use it for fertilizer or bait.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Dhoey07 on January 31, 2019, 10:31:45 AM: I use to fish the Cowlitz around the Holidays when i was back visiting family. I use to fish the Snake in the fall for steelhead and Springers in May. I use to make a trip in early August for sockeye at Brewster. I use to make a trip a year to the Ronde but I've stopped doing all that when the Columbia River Endorsement came out.

Now, I take my kids to a local lake for panfish and go to Roosevelt for some winter shore fishing. If I had to put a number on the fish I keep from this state it would probably amount to around 50, but that's mostly perch and crappie.

I now get my salmon from a friendly commercial fisherman that I met on a local hunting forum :tup: :tup:
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Jake Dogfish on January 31, 2019, 10:34:30 AM: I evolved from eating almost everything, to complete catch and release, back to keeping everything but wild trout and salmon.
My wife eats as much fish and seafood as I can catch. :dunno:
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: WSU on January 31, 2019, 10:36:52 AM: I wish we (me included) liked to eat seafood more often. I like it when we cook it, but we don't seem to eat it more than once or twice a month. I'd love to eat fish twice a week or more but never seem to make it happen.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: 7mmfan on January 31, 2019, 10:56:49 AM: Number wise, I eat probably 15-20 salmon/steelhead a year, and as many bottom fish as I can get ahold of. That's tougher as I don't have a saltwater boat, so I have to take advantage of ride alongs. Like you, I'm pretty picky about the fish I eat. June summer runs, spring chinook, and ocean coho pretty much make up the majority of those fish.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: WSU on January 31, 2019, 11:02:02 AM: Maybe my next thread will be a recipe thread so I can up my game and eat more fish!
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Stein on January 31, 2019, 11:04:15 AM: We pretty much eat everything we can get our hands on. When you have two growing kids that have eaten good fish since they were young, they really can put the stuff away. I would have to be incredibly lethal to be able to catch more than we can eat.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: cavemann on January 31, 2019, 11:08:36 AM: I'm lucky to have anything left by this time of year.. we eat about everything we can keep. Kids love it and are not as picky so a free meal is a free meal. We keep about 12 salmon a year and countless koks depending on how often I can get out. Koks are usually gone the weekend we catch.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: blackpowderhunter on January 31, 2019, 11:08:59 AM: well since i didnt shoot an elk this year....a lot :chuckle:
but in all seriousness, as much as i love eating fresh salmon and crab, i also love being out there, and getting people out who have never caught a salmon, or gone crabbing.
it's an enjoyable day on the water, and then we can share the bounty.
love having frozen crab cakes in the freezer year round though, and lots of smoked salmon vac sealed and frozen is always great to pull out for a treat, or to make a dip, or bring to a party.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Wetwoodshunter on January 31, 2019, 11:17:24 AM: I probably eat fish at least 3 times a week. Typically will cook it for dinner once and have leftovers for my lunch or breakfast later within the week.

I basically only go fishing for whatever the species is that I want to put in my freezer or who ever I am with wants in theirs.

I also give a lot of fish away to family and friends. It seems to make people really happy.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: jamesfromseattle on January 31, 2019, 11:51:57 AM: I used to do a lot of catch and release fishing (including some time as a fly fishing bum living out of a car and fishing every day), but I have lost my stomach for catch and release fishing. Now I just fish to kill and eat and leave them alone otherwise. A couple bottomfish trips (lings and rockfish) and about 5-10 salmon trips a year usually gets my wife and I through the year. I’m going to ballpark the average at about 30 fish Leo per year now. We eat fish a couple times a week plus occasional crab, shrimp, and prawns in season.

My wife has also put a moratorium on releasing fish. I can fish all I want as long as I am bringing something home. In her opinion catch and release fishing is less worthwhile than doing chores around the house. I guess there are worse qualities to have in a wife than that.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: pianoman9701 on January 31, 2019, 11:58:39 AM: The only fish I keep are stocked rainbow. Everything else goes back - bass mostly. I don't get much of a chance to fish for salmon or sturgeon anymore or I'd keep some of those. Never been ocean fishing on the West Coast except one salmon trip out of SF, CA.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: The Marquis on January 31, 2019, 12:29:44 PM: I eat a lot of fish. I smoke probably on average 10 per month of Kok or Trout (not each month). So 120 a year and we eat the smoked stuff quickly. I'll probably eat fish otherwise about once per week whether it's just fish or in something like a soup or dip or something. My family probably eats 250-300 fish in 12 months, mostly Trout, Kokanee, Shad and Perch. That's going to change this year as I plan to put my efforts into shellfish more.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Sandberm on January 31, 2019, 02:07:56 PM: I wish I liked to eat bass as there are tons of em in the sanke river to be caught but I just do not really care for the taste of bass/bluegill/crappie vs perch/walleye , catfish or salmon/steelhead/trout which I do enjoy.

I might eat 2-3 dozen trout, a few walleye and a couple dozen perch, and 1 or 2 catfish per year. Wish I was a better fisherman/fished more often as i would eat fish more often.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: throttlejocky20 on February 01, 2019, 11:32:00 AM: Its a staple in our house i cant seem to catch enough. at least a couple times a week.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: lokidog on February 01, 2019, 08:14:43 PM: I eat a lot of fish. This week, I had fish Tuesday, Wednesday, and last night for dinner. I had some smoked salmon today for a snack, and will eat more fish tomorrow, probably for lunch.

I do tend to be a fish/meat hoarder, I'll admit. However, vacuum packed it will last years. I'm still eating salmon from 2017, luckily, since the 2018/19 season has sucked. I finally tagged my first salmon this week, though I did get a nice Steelhead last June.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: shadowless_nite on February 02, 2019, 06:48:37 PM: I grew up eating fish fairly often however not of the salmonid variety. Now that I salmon and steelhead fish and gotten better over the last few years we actually have what I consider "surplus" for my family of 4 that eats fish maybe 2-3 times a month. I've weighed everything out and between the one 20lb springer, 10 summer steelhead and 1 fall chinook we managed just a little over 90lbs of salmon and steelhead for the 2018 season. We are about halfway through it since I stop fishing in september after hunting season starts. And winter steelhead has been a waste of time. With a dismal looking Springer forecast in the columbia, it's looking like we will burn through our fish by the summer season.

I really wish we ate it once a week at least, just to cut out the extra groceries we buy. But the kids are hard to convince that its premium eats compared to things like mac n cheese :bash:
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Ironhead on February 02, 2019, 07:09:47 PM: Fish- Walleye, Salmon, Triploid or Burbot 3 nights a week. Occassional Smallmouth Perch or Halibut.
Red Meat- Elk, Deer, Antelope 3 nights a week. Occassional Moose, Bison or Beef.
Poultry- Chicken, Pheasant, Chukar or Quail 1 night a week. Occassional Duck, Goose or Turkey.

99% wild fish and wild game!
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Crunchy on February 02, 2019, 08:05:57 PM: I should be eating more than I do. Filled a punch card and a half last two years kings/cohos, but friends and family share in the haul. Always have some on hand, but hate to run out.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: 7mmCoug on February 02, 2019, 08:51:42 PM: All the salmon and steelhead I can. Springers (10 or so a year if I’m lucky) and summer steelhead (a couple a year) get eaten fresh or vacuum packed. Falls (half a dozen maybe) and winters (another half dozen)we’ll eat a piece fresh and I’ll smoke the rest. Sturgeon if we’re lucky enough to get an opportunity. A few Kokanee a year. I need to do that more. I would like to maybe do some crappie and explore the walleye fishery more.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: huntnnw on February 03, 2019, 11:56:22 PM: We eat salmon atleast once a week or more. If I have sturgeon we eat that atleast every other week. We go thru about 100 lbs of salmon a year and 50 lbs of sturgeon a year and a few walleye and burbot meals.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Pete112288 on February 04, 2019, 01:43:39 AM: We eat more fish than I can keep up with to catch. Never thought I would hit a point where I would ever actually buy fish. But I just cant get out quite as much anymore. Every fish I bring home anymore is typically eaten that day or within 48 hours. Bass has become my wife & my favorites. We used to have salmon or steelhead weekly when I was able to keep a good supply on hand, haha. We will eat it all for the most part and enjoy it very much. This part though will probably get me wrung up by my toes on here, but I swear I have yet to have salmon or steelhead that I can tell the difference between. Now if they are dark fish, I can tell that, but one bright fish to a bright fish of another species... pink meat tastes like pink meat. I cannot count the amount of times buddies have cooked 2 types in the same way, right next to eachother, just to try to show me the difference, but I still cant tell. I have had winter steelhead next to springer, next to fall coho next to summer steelhead.... :dunno: Guess that just means I am easy to please maybe, haha.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: BigGoonTuna on February 04, 2019, 06:14:55 AM: for some reason, i find that frozen salmon/trout/steelhead have an off taste unless they get smoked, so i usually give away anything that i can't eat fresh.

i love springers,summer steelhead and coho...fall kings are for the smoker unless they're jacks or exceptionally fatty. don't keep winter runs much any more(i'd have to catch something to bring it home, and most of the areas i can get away from the hordes of people only have wild fish now anyway...)

i could eat white meat fish like perch, walleye, lings etc all the time. i seem to be in the minority around here though.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: huntnnw on February 04, 2019, 06:43:44 AM: Quote from: Pete112288 on February 04, 2019, 01:43:39 AM
We eat more fish than I can keep up with to catch. Never thought I would hit a point where I would ever actually buy fish. But I just cant get out quite as much anymore. Every fish I bring home anymore is typically eaten that day or within 48 hours. Bass has become my wife & my favorites. We used to have salmon or steelhead weekly when I was able to keep a good supply on hand, haha. We will eat it all for the most part and enjoy it very much. This part though will probably get me wrung up by my toes on here, but I swear I have yet to have salmon or steelhead that I can tell the difference between. Now if they are dark fish, I can tell that, but one bright fish to a bright fish of another species... pink meat tastes like pink meat. I cannot count the amount of times buddies have cooked 2 types in the same way, right next to eachother, just to try to show me the difference, but I still cant tell. I have had winter steelhead next to springer, next to fall coho next to summer steelhead.... :dunno: Guess that just means I am easy to please maybe, haha.

I can tell a major difference in spring chinook versus fall chinook not even a comparison.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Stein on February 04, 2019, 07:34:29 AM: Yeah, springers are a different thing for sure.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: h2ofowlr on February 04, 2019, 08:20:46 AM: We usually eat fish weekly. Love salmon. One of my favorite outside of tuna.
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: Mr Mykiss on February 06, 2019, 09:09:55 AM: I eat enough 10# walleye that I should die of mercury poisoning sooner than later...
Title: Re: How many fish do you eat?
Post by: kball4 on February 06, 2019, 02:17:50 PM: I keep and eat most anything that comes out of salt water and I used to keep alot of trout too but I've lost the taste for trout. Stocker trout does make good halibut bait though.